Lancers really suck, they're comparable to civics... the SE-R is much better for performance
The Lancer EVO is sweet though, it's probably one of the best cars you could buy, but it's not out in the U.S. yet and it'll cost a LOT more than an SE-R (but it's worth it, the EVO does 0-60mph in less than 5seconds)
like somebody else said, the mitsu Lancer and the Lancer EVO are TOTALLY different... they hardly share any parts, but they look almost the same